It is a clean state of white.
Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters is one of the new kids on the block, but not that new if you are familiar with OZ Specialty Coffee. Formerly located at the other part of the Upper Thomson neighbourhood, the brand has undergone a major revamp and repositioning and now sits proudly as Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters at the edge of the busy stretch of Upper Thomson. It is a much bigger scale, with a proper dine-in space because they serve more than coffee and desserts now.
Its new space is bright and clean. Sleek lamps hang from the ceiling, shining down on the longitudinal wooden tables. Sunlight streams in through the huge panelled windows and fills the space with warmth. Sitting at the corner of the cafe is a rack of merchandise neatly displayed and ready for purchase – from filters to drippers, you are free to bring home a piece of Pacamara.
We actually love the minimalistic white-washed outlook of the cafe. We like it so damn much. But the food menu was a severe disappointment. What could have been otherwise a well-designed menu with both classic brunch favourites and interesting creations was let down by its price point and mediocre execution.
On our table was an item from the salad section, the brunch and the mains each. We really fancy a good beetroot salad for nothing is quite as gratifying than sweet beet slices alongside crumbly feta, chick peas and arugula. But Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters’ Beetroot Salad (S$14) is a ridiculous portion of five beet slices, some small squares of butternut and very countable arugula leaves with barely-there lemon vinaigrette dressing. This is by far the most expensive salad (for its puny portion) we’ve ever paid for in a cafe.
From the brunch menu (served till 2:30pm), we had the Red Velvet Pancakes (S$16) served with mascarpone and fresh berries. While it was rather fluffy, it came in a sad shade of brown and we were looking forward to the mild chocolatey sweetness, but to no avail. Seems like there is nothing really red velvety about the pancakes after all. Oh well. And the Wagyu Burger (S$22) from the mains came standing tall and complete with chips, but the patty was a tad too dry.
Our saving grace for the day? The White (5oz for S$5), that came with a decent latte art and a familiar taste of OZ Specialty.
It is a shame that such a cosy cafe with a strategic location would fail so badly in their food. Nonetheless, the big switch from a hole-in-the-wall coffee joint is still deserving of an applause and worth a visit.
Pacamara Boutique Coffee Roasters
185 Upper Thomson Road
Tue to Sun: 9am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Ang Mo Kio/Marymount
Just has breakfast at ur place; some comments:
- coffee was great (latte and ice white coffee)
- banana bread was over sweet
- the big breakfast was really bad: scrambled eggs are dry and overcooked, sausage is really not nice and taste sour, back bacon was barely heated, not even pan fried properly, hashbrown was the McD type, overall presentation was appealing
- service was mediocre at best. Nothing to do with lack of staff. There were plenty of them. Just no warmth, proactiveness or whatever that wld make a service provider useful and an added value to any business.
Hope you can improve. The decor and location are nice
I think the new menu that they have established is quite successful. The food is much more decent than the previous. Do give it a try!
Thanks for updating your blog regulary! Really enjoyed it
I love their Clam Chowder! It’s their soup of the day today, and every spoonful tastes like heaven! The service I received was great today.